The Service Management blog from Sysop

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Monthly Archives: November 2011

It’s an easy category to assign to us here at Sysop – we’re an IT Training Company aren’t we? Well actually it’s not as simple as that. Although we’re probably best well known for out ITIL® training courses – they are actually education courses.

Our PRINCE2® courses are very definitely training courses, in that you would return to your office well-equipped to use the PRINCE2 methodology to manage any project for which you are responsible. ITIL® is different. There is no doubt that following your ITIL course you will better understand the ITIL framework and recommended best practice but putting that into practice will still present major challenges. Chief amongst these is the cultural shift you need to bring about in your organisation – and that’s where the training begins.

Training is about helping people to do things in the workplace in a particular way – equipping them with skills, purpose and methodology. You and your colleagues will need to have a common understanding of exactly how ITIL best practice is to be implemented.

A Forrester report revealed that the biggest reasons for ITIL initiatives failing is resistance to change 52%, failing to get buy-in and acceptance , the second reason was lack of business support. The training agenda that we have developed outside of our scheduled examination courses can help you to:

• identify, recognise and agree what challenges are faced by your organisation;

• look at these challenges from the perspectives of the various stakeholders;

• identify how stakeholders are impacted by current poor practice;

• facilitate practical workshops to identify problem areas;

• discuss and agree the consequences and risks of these problem areas;

• recognise and create ‘buy-in’ to the ‘need’ to find a solution to resolve them;

• identify stakeholders that need to be involved in process improvement;

• discuss and agree the solutions required to make process improvement happen;

• provide input to ‘Continual Service Improvement’ initiatives.

The experience we gain through this “training” work, of course, adds considerable value to our educational courses. But there is no substitute for focused training delivering clear and measurable objectives.

ITIL®, PRINCE2® are Registered Trademarks of the Office of Government Commerce in the United Kingdom and other countries

I noticed the adverts on the back of two vehicles today that set me thinking about how organisations can wrap themselves in a “Green Blanket” without necessarily reducing their carbon footprint at all.

The first was a van with a decal indicating that the vehicle had been limited to 70 mph in order to reduce its carbon footprint. Given that the maximum speed allowed in this country is 70 mph then all that this company is doing is obeying the law but claiming to be extra green in the process.

The second was a large vehicle proclaiming the green virtues of being based in Northamptonshire. Simply being based in Northamptonshire as cheap and convenient the area may be doesn’t in itself reduce a carbon footprint. I’m sure the company owning the vehicle has many green initiatives of its own – but these weren’t the credentials claimed.

It’s clear that at the corporate level the green agenda is considered significant. Companies do want to be seen as eco-friendly. However, certainly as far as IT goes, cost-saving has a higher priority that carbon reduction. A recent conversation with a customer confirmed this – no investment would be made to reduce their carbon footprint if it meant higher costs.

That says that the Sysop strategy on Green IT is for the moment at least the right one. We must encourage our customers to reduce their carbon footprint and reduce costs in the process. Once actions are in place then the momentum for carbon saving will grow exponentially.

Using practical exercises instead of the ubiquitous PowerPoint presentation, Sysop students will work through a series of facilitated and very logical case-studies which will enable them to understand PRINCE2® in a much more effective and practical way.

By the end of the course they will have developed a reference book crammed with the project templates that they have developed – an invaluable reference guide back in the workplace.

Sysop head of Training, Michelle Major-Goldsmith says: “We have always believed in delivering practical training that makes a real difference back at the ranch. The practical nature of PRINCE2 lends itself to learning by doing rather than learning by lecture. Learning is more effective when delegates can be ‘hands-on’ and enjoy themselves, some puzzles and games will be used as a highly valuable change of scene. I believe this format of course will prove hugely popular with students and managers alike”.

Richard Pharro, CEO, APMG, said, “It is encouraging to see Accredited Training Organisations making the learning experience of delegates as exciting as possible. Learning in a way which enables students to utilise their practical experience when they get back to the office will help them become more effective project managers. I am confident the Sysop workshops will be very popular.”

Since the course contains no slides and uses such an innovative approach, delegates can be sure that the trainers who deliver our course are experts in how to explain the PRINCE2® method successfully.